Did disgraced banker ‘buy’ knighthood with RBS’s cash?

The Conservative party is seeking clarification of the grounds on which honours are bestowed

The Conservatives have asked the government to explain whether donations worth £8.7m by the Royal Bank of Scotland to the Prince's Trust played a part in its decision to award the bank's former chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin a knighthood.

Murdo Fraser, deputy leader of the Scottish Tories, has written to the Cabinet Office seeking clarification of the grounds on which the disgraced banker was honoured.

Last week Harriet Harman, Labour's deputy leader, said that while Goodwin's knighthood was awarded for services to banking, there was "no doubt his contribution to the Prince's Trust would also have been taken into account".

Under Goodwin's stewardship, RBS became one of the Prince's Trust's biggest corporate donors, gifting it £3.7m in 2001 and a further £5m four years later. Prior to 2001, the trust said RBS had only donated about £300,000. Goodwin was knighted on the recommendation of the Blair government in June